text:
View Nuclear Periodic Table View Isotopic & Isomeric Data
(Gr. Selene, moon) Discovered by Berzelius in 1817, who found it associated with tellurium, named for the earth.
Selenium is found in a few rare minerals such as crooksite and clausthalite. In years past it has been obtained from flue dusts remaining from processing copper sulfide ores, but the anode metal from electrolytic copper refineries now provide the source of most of the world's selenium. Selenium is recovered by roasting the muds with soda or sulfuric acid, or by smelting them with soda and niter.
Selenium exhibits both photovoltaic action, where light is converted directly into electricity, and photoconductive action, where the electrical resistance decreases with increased illumination. These properties make selenium useful in the production of photocells and exposure meters for photographic use, as well as solar cells. Selenium is also able to convert a.c. electricity to d.c., and is extensively used in rectifiers. Below its melting point selenium is a p-type semiconductor and is finding many uses in electronic and solid-state applications.
Elemental selenium has been said to be practically nontoxic and is considered to be an essential trace element; however, hydrogen selenide and other selenium compounds are extremely toxic, and resemble arsenic in their physiological reactions.
Naturally selenium contains six stable isotopes. Fifteen other isotopes have been characterized. The element is a member of the sulfur family and resembles sulfur both in its various forms and in its compounds.
Selenium is used in Xerography for reproducing and copying documents, letters, etc. It is used by the glass industry to decolorize glass and to make ruby-colored glasses and enamels. It is also used as a photographic toner, and as an additive to stainless steel.
Hydrogen selenide in a concentration of 1.5 ppm is intolerable to man. Selenium occurs in some solid in amounts sufficient to produce serious effects on animals feeding on plants, such as locoweed, grown in such soils. Exposure to selenium compounds (as Se) in air should not exceed 0.2 mg/m3 (8-hour time-weighted average - 40-hour week).
Selenium is priced at about $300/lb. It is also available in high-purity form at a somewhat higher cost.


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- "The Novelist's Eye" is part 1 of the author's "George du Maurier: The Satiric Artist," the introduction to his The Art of George du Maurier (Hants, England: Scolar Press; Brookfield, Vt.: Ashgate, c1996).
- All notes in the original have been converted to in-text citations that refer to the list of references at the end of this document.
- All links to materials in the Victorian Web have been added by GPL.
The Novelist's Eye
oward the end of his career as an artist-illustrator du Maurier expressed the rather daring opinion that the illustrator in black-and-white may be as important as the novelist or painter -- provided he 'illustrate life from [his] own point of view... (as the social artists of Punch have done from the beginning)'. If he has done his work well, he argues, and has 'faithfully represented the life of his time -- he has perpetuated what he has seen with his own bodily eyes... his unpretending little sketches may, perhaps, have more interest for those who come across them in another hundred years, than many an ambitious historical or classical canvas' (p. 374). In rendering the characters and social details of his day, the illustrator 'may still have the power to charm and amuse' later generations by the mere virtue of the 'literal truth' that resides in his drawings.
Although he illustrated numerous books, du Maurier believed that the pages of Punch afforded him the proper medium in which to develop his drawings into an art form that was as autonomous and enduring as an oil painting or a novel. As an illustrator of books he was keenly aware of the subservient role of the artist whose duty was to portray someone else's characters and scenes. 'If authors would learn a little how to draw themselves', he writes, 'they would not put such difficulties in the artist's way, and expect the impossible of him, such as that he should draw three sides of a house in one picture, or show the heroine's full face, tearstained, as she gazes on her lover vanishing in the middle of the background' (p. 371). Despite some striking illustrations he did for the novels of Mrs Gaskell, Douglas Jerrold, and Thackeray, du Maurier's artistic talent flourished in the more congenial atmosphere of Punch. No longer restricted by an author's conception of character and scene, du Maurier was faced with the awesome task of drawing directly from life and reproducing what he saw there in a structured and meaningful way. He was helped in this endeavour by the organization of the magazine itself, which had on hand artists who had staked out their special areas, including the lower classes of society, sporting events, and politics. As du Maurier put it, 'I have generally stuck to the "classes" because C.K. [Charles Keene] seems to have monopolized the "masses"' (quoted Lucy, p. 391).
After doing a number of random drawings, initial letters, and literary parodies, du Maurier began to develop a pattern and structure for his drawings in Punch that gave them a life of their own. Between the late 1860s and the end of the 1880s he created a fictional world as complex and self-contained as many a novel. As Henry James put it, 'Punch had never before suspected that it was so artistic; had never taken itself, in such matters, so seriously' (p. 344). An avid reader as well as a prodigious illustrator of fiction and a great admirer of Thackeray, Meredith, Henry James, and Mrs Gaskell, du Maurier produced work in Punch that was strongly influenced by the form of the novel. The editor of Punch gave him his subject -- the upper classes -- and the novel provided him a structure for rendering that subject. The fact that late in life he turned to writing novels is really not surprising when one considers his thirty years of work in Punch not only as an artistic end in itself but as his lengthy apprenticeship to becoming a novelist. The relationship between du Maurier the artist and du Maurier the novelist is an intimate one.
Henry James was the first person to observe the similarity between du Maurier's drawings and the English novel of manners. Writing about the illustrations in the Cornhill he says that du Maurier has reproduced every possible situation that is likely to be encountered in the English novel of manners; he has interpreted pictorially innumerable flirtations, wooings, philanderings, raptures. The interest of the English novel of manners is frequently the interest of the usual; the situations presented to the artist are apt to lack superficial strangeness. A lady and gentleman sitting in a drawing-room, a lady and a gentleman going out to walk, a sad young woman watching at a sick-bed, a handsome young man lighting a cigarette. ... In these drawing-room and flower-garden episodes the artist is thoroughly at home (pp. 344-45).
James goes on to say that du Maurier's drawings in Punch remind him of the fashionable novel that flourished in the 1830s, and if it were to be revised du Maurier would be the man to do the pictures: 'the pictures of people rather slim and still, with long necks and limbs so straight that they look stiff, who might be treated with the amount of derision justified ... by their passion for talking bad French'. James draws still another parallel between the drawings and literature: 'he has made "society" completely his own -- he has sounded its depths, explored its mysteries, discovered and divulged its secrets. His observation of these things is extraordinarily acute, and his illustrations, taken together, form a complete comedy of manners' (p. 357).
Like George Meredith and Henry James, du Maurier preferred persons that, in the words of Meredith's Mountstuart Jenkinson, 'shone in the sun' (Egoist, p. 11). And like them he was more concerned with the subtleties of the comic spirit rather than with the vulgarity of boisterous laughter. It is in the setting of the Victorian drawing room and, more finely, in the mid-region between two people in conversation, where false constructions are put by either party upon what is said, that du Maurier, like the novelists, perceived the source of comedy was to be found. The drawing room belonged to an age that was willing to sacrifice much for the sake of appearances: illusion became the only reality. It was like a stage in which elegantly costumed people, set against carefully arranged furniture and draperies, acted out their lives accordingly to the rigid script of good manners. Against this artificial setting, manners were destined to be false, and good manners became almost synonymous with insincerity.
du Maurier's public world is essentially restricted to the drawing room, the after-dinner entertainments, the alcove looking out to the drawing room, or the dinner table -- high society trying its best to be highly civilized. Unlike Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens, du Maurier showed little interest in the outer world of highways or rugged heaths. When he does depict outdoor scenes they are usually of manicured lawns, tennis matches, or the artful landscaped area of Hampstead where he lived.
The characters that du Maurier created to inhabit and visit the elegant rooms of his drawings also suggest the novelist's eye. As a comedy of manners, the panoramic world of his pictures contained hundreds of different characters and character types, from foolish Frenchmen to ridiculous clergymen. The features and dress of a character may vary from drawing to drawing but the type remains essentially the same. What gives some of du Maurier's characters a novelistic turn, however, is that he created a set of specific characters who appeared many times over the years. Serial publication was the common form used for fiction during this period. Figures such as Mrs Cimabue Brown, Jellaby Postlethwaite, Maudle, Mrs Ponsonby de Tomkyns, and Sir Gorgius Midas became popular attractions that gave a unity to the drawings in much the same way that the Pickwickians did for the monthly parts of Dickens's picaresque novel. The characters usually do not develop and grow but the reader is delighted to hear and see more of their sayings and doings in each new issue of the magazine. Gradually their reappearance invests them with a life of their own. Having established a world of artifice where style makes both the man and the woman, and having created an array of characters, du Maurier assumed the novelist's role again by endowing his people with speech. He wrote his own captions for the drawings, and these captions are basically of two kinds: the conversational passage -- usually a dialogue, or the more elaborate third-person observation by the artist himself. The thousands of lines of dialogue and narration that du Maurier wrote over the years provided him invaluable practice for the novels he was to write later. In fact, the dialogue under the drawings is occasionally more succinct and dramatic than that in his novels. The drawings are seldom humorous in themselves. His stately and beautiful people could be saying practically anything; the captions are therefore necessary to explain the situation and to trigger the humor. Rarely the joker, du Maurier sought in his captions to elicit from his reader a knowing smile, rather than a laugh. His drawings are best viewed and read with the expectation one brings to the novels of Jane Austen, Trollope, or Thackeray. Temperamentally and artistically, du Maurier belongs with the cast of novelists who delight in the in-door drama of witty conversation, social manoeuvrings, the deftly articulated snub, and the artful though oftentimes foolish exhibition of one's sense of superiority.
Consistent with the dualism that has been noted about his life and with the theme of dualism that runs through his three novels, his drawings reveal a similar division, in this case, between his public and private worlds. The greatest number of his drawings depicts London's fashionable society, but he also did many that are based upon his own family. Tender, sometimes sentimental, they disclose another side of the artist, one seen again in the delightful opening chapters of Peter Ibbetson. Obsessed with the past, du Maurier's Hampstead drawings suggest a quaint, unchanging beauty unlike anything else in Punch. His private world is seen again in the drawings that depict nightmarish figures, grotesque distortions of reality that in a different guise haunt the pages of Peter Ibbetson and Trilby years later.
Both of these worlds, the public and the private, exhibit du Maurier's masterful creation of character and dialogue. First to be examined will be the society pictures that feature the aesthetes, the nouveau riche, clergymen, servants, and liberated women. Herein lies an intensely focused world like that of his novels but which, unlike them, is seen through the eyes of a satirist. Second, the drawings based upon his private life will be discussed, and these present a world that is serious, idealistic, and sometimes frightening.
Other Sections of "George du Maurier: The Satiric Artist"
du Maurier, George. 'The Illustration of Books from the Serious Artist's Point of View. — II.' Magazine of Art. September, 1890.
_____. Peter Ibbetson. New York, 1891.
_____. Trilby. New York, 1894.
James, Henry. 'George du Maurier', in Partial Portraits. London, 1899.
Lucy, Sir Henry. Sixty Years in the Wilderness New York, 1909.
McMullen, Roy. Victorian Outsider: A Biography of]. A. M. Whistler. New York, 1973.
Meredith, George. The Egoist. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1958.
Pater, Walter. The Renaissance. London: Macmillan, 1910.
Spielmann, M. H. and L. S. Layard. Kate Greenaway. New York, 1968.
Whistler, J. A. M. The Gentle Art of Making Enemies. ed. Sheridan Ford New York, 1890.
Wilde, Oscar. 'The Decay of Lying', in Intentions. London: Methuen, 1899.
Last modified 24 July 2003

subset: commoncrawl


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Does Hadoop Have a Speed Problem?
Fast data -- information provided in near-real time -- is key to getting the most out of analytics projects, says ParStream CEO Michael Hummel.
November 20, 2013
If you're familiar with the classic three Vs model of big data -- that's high volume, high velocity, and high variety -- you're also aware that big data means much more than simply stockpiling petabytes of information. The ability to analyze data streams in near-real time is essential, too, and a variety of tools is emerging to fill this need.
One such tool is ParStream, a real-time database for big-data analytics. Its developer, an enterprise software company also named ParStream, is based in Cologne, Germany. It was founded in 2008 by Michael Hummel and Jörg Bienert, the firm's CEO and CTO, respectively. In a phone interview with InformationWeek, Hummel said the big-data marketplace is changing rapidly as organizations begin to see the value of "fast data," the ability to analyze data nearly in real time. He also called Hadoop overhyped, but acknowledged that the open-source software framework has become a de facto standard of sorts for big data.
"Definitely there is a de facto standard, which is called Hadoop. But people do not actually mean Hadoop when they say Hadoop," said Hummel.
How so?
"Hadoop is a multilayered system, and the lowest level of the system is called HDFS: Hadoop Distributed File System. And that's what people mean when they say, 'We store all the data in Hadoop,' they actually mean that they store it on a distributed file system called HDFS. And all the systems use the data stored there, and can access it from there," he said. MapReduce is just one of many options, including ParStream, that can analyze this data, he added.
[ How does big data affect your small business? Read Big Data FAQ: Separating Signal From Noise. ]
"Nowadays, there are solutions that can handle petabytes of data," said Hummel. "We are able to do it. The MapReduce approach was a very, very good first step in that direction. It made it possible." But in the world of big data, as with other emerging technologies, the first solution is usually not the best long-term choice, he said.
"Today, people today talk about speed, they talk about real time. They talk about making data accessible at your fingertips. So we're talking about sub-second response times. But Hadoop was not made for that. It was made for long-running queries that come back after 14 days."
Not surprisingly, that's a problem for organizations seeking fast-data analysis. Hadoop "was never made for interactive analytics, which is the big thing at the moment," said Hummel. "People and companies see it as absolutely relevant to be able to analyze data in a very, very short time." Fast data, he added, means "that you don't consider only the data from yesterday, but also the data from now."
For instance, fast-data analytics can benefit retail sites, particularly those where it's difficult to react immediately to shoppers' behaviors and make product or service recommendations. "That's a missed opportunity," said Hummel. "Think of people who fill up their shopping baskets, and then don't do anything on that website for five minutes. Perhaps they're not interested anymore, or they're distracted. Maybe they have found something better on a different website."
Fast-data analytics allow businesses to respond more rapidly to their customers and improve the buying experience. Hummel added: "Being able to engage with these people while they are still on the website -- or when they've just left -- makes much more sense than waiting until the next day to send out a reminder to say, 'OK, we'll give you a 5 percent bonus if you buy today.'"
Database administrators are the caretakers of an organization's most precious asset -- its data -- but rarely do they have the experience and skills required to secure that data. Indeed, the goals of DBAs and security pros are often at odds. That gap must be bridged in order for organizations to protect data in an increasingly threat-ridden environment. In the Dark Reading How Enterprises Can Use Big Data To Improve Security report, we examine what DBAs should know about security, as well as recommend how database and security pros can work more effectively together. (Free registration required.)
About the Author(s)
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Mar 26, 2024


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VIDEO: Milk protests at falling prices 'crisis': what's it all about?
Protesters have been taking part in Milk Trolley Challenges, blockading distribution centres and even bringing cattle into supermarkets to raise awareness of their plight.
Milk prices have been falling steadily, with many farmers warning they are in a "desperate" situation.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdEconomist, Lucia Zitti, who works for the National Farmers' Union wrote in a blog post: "Some people are asking us if things are as bad as we make out. Is the UK dairy sector really going through a crisis?
"The simple answer is "yes". Even the reluctant EU Commissioner Phil Hogan finally admitted that the UK dairy industry is in "very serious difficulty"."
What are farmers paid for their milk?
Farmers have seen the price they are paid per litre of milk (ppl) plummeting in recent years, with some losing up to 10p for each litre they sell. In January 2013, the average farm gate price paid for milk was 30.05ppl across the UK. Figures released by Defra for June 2015 put the average farmgate price paid at 23.66ppl.
This price is a 1.5% decrease or 0.37ppl less than the average price paid in May. The June 2015 price was 8.00ppl - or 25.3% - lower than in the same month last year.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdNorthern Ireland has seen the biggest falls in price paid to farmers, with the average price for June 2015 at 19.85ppl, a decrease of 1.03ppl or 4.9% compared with the previous month. The price is 9.88ppl or 33.2% lower than in June last year.
What does it cost to produce milk?
ADHB Dairy, a not-for-profit organisation working for British dairy farmers, puts the cost "anecdotally" at between 30 to 32p to produce a litre of milk. Independently, many farmers say the cost of producing a litre of milk is at least 30 ppl.
What is the effect on the dairy industry?
The number of dairy farmers in the UK was estimated to be at 25,000 in 2000. Producer numbers from the beginning of August 2015 show there are now 9,724 dairy farmers left in England and Wales - a fall of 53 from the previous month. When compared to the same month in the previous year, producer numbers have dropped by 421, or 4%, according to AHDB Dairy.
An average-size family dairy farm with 130 cows can expect to produce a million litres a year. Each penny taken off the price paid per litre causes an annual drop in income of about £10,000 for the farm. If the drop in price was 10p per litre - a cut seen by many farmers - that equates to a £100,000 loss in income.
What is the bigger picture?
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdA review of the EU and global markets showed a continuation of imbalance between supply and demand, AHDB say.
Milk production in the 28 EU member states remains above 2014 levels, with stock described as excessive for cheese and milk powders.
Farmgate prices are at an average of 34.08 euro/100kg, equivalent to 22.69ppl - their lowest point since June 2010 and further price cuts are expected.
What is the Milk Trolley Challenge?
The Milk Trolley Challenge originated in Yate, south Gloucestershire, when a group of farmers were filmed lining up trolleys in a Morrisons supermarket before emptying the shelves of milk.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdA woman is heard saying "Morrisons, you have been milked" in the footage, which was uploaded to YouTube.
Protesters have been paying for the milk and giving it away for free to customers outside supermarkets, donating money raised to charity. They have also been leaving trolleys full of milk at the checkout.
The original challenge took place on June 30 with more quickly following around the country, including Cornwall, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
Why were two cows in a supermarket?
Protesters brought two heifers into Asda in Stafford on Sunday, with police called to the scene at 12.30pm. The cows were brought into the store to protest about the prices, with a campaigner saying: "This milk should not be cheaper than a bottle of water" in footage posted online.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdA spokesman for Staffordshire Police said officers attended to ensure the protest "remained peaceful" and minimal disruption was caused to the public.
What do consumers say?
A survey of 1,270 milk drinkers by market research organisation Mintel in June found 51% would be prepared to pay more than £1 for four pints of milk. The average price people were willing to pay was £1.28.
Currently, normal supermarket prices range from 89p to £1.
Are there any solutions?
The NFU in England, Wales and Scotland, and the Ulster Farmers' Union have urged the four Defra farming ministers to hold a joint meeting with them to find solutions to the current crisis.
It said 236 farmers have left the dairy sector since January 2015, and the trend look set to continue, with only around 10 per cent of dairy farmers on contracts that track farmers' cost of production.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdA Defra spokesperson told Country Week that it was keen to work with the agricultural industry to discuss what could be done.
"We maintain a regular dialogue with farming unions and industry. We look forward to discussing these issues with them further."


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5 Smart Ways to Avoid a Cash Crisis
Here's an interesting puzzler. How is it possible for a profitable business to be growing and failing at the same time? The all important answer to this conundrum lies in the company's cash flow.
Hot product companies that experience rapid sales growth have to purchase and assemble inventory months in advance of shipment to retailers and distribution partners. This eats up a company's cash. And, just when customers get around to paying for last month's product shipments the company has to invest its available cash in the next inventory production run. This is how too much success can quickly lead to an empty bank account.
If a commercial bank doesn't step in to help a company catch up, the company may have to lay off workers, cut back production or face bankruptcy. This scenario is the living nightmare of American business today.
Here are five easy ways to protect your company's precious cash life line.
No. 1: Limit exposure to high risk customers. Are your largest customers also your company's slowest paying customers? If so, take immediate steps to diversify the customer mix to favor faster paying customers. Sales commission payments should be tied to the timing of customer collections too.
No. 2: Bill frequently. Most service-oriented businesses bill on a monthly basis or at the end of a project. Why not bill customers every week or every two weeks in the form of progress payments? The faster companies invoice customers, the faster they get paid.
No. 3: Reduce dependence on a single funding source. As too many entrepreneurs have learned, it's relatively easy for banks to pull credit lines when companies can least afford it. To minimize the risks of sudden cash shortfalls, smart entrepreneurs set aside one or two credit cards for emergencies.
The first time a bank lending officer learns about your company should not be the day you are desperate for cash. If you don't know the names of at least four bank credit officers, ask your business colleagues for referrals now! Smart business owners are always eager to meet credit officers from big and small community lenders.
No. 4: Streamline product lines. Entrepreneurs who don't have a lot of loose cash should avoid producing too many products in too many styles to sell to too many different types of customers. The more complex a company's product line, the more cash that is required to produce, store, advertise and deliver goods to customers.
No. 5: Set high profitability standards. The companies that are most vulnerable to financial heartaches during a recession or credit crisis are low profit margin businesses. Simply stated, low margin businesses have no margin for error. Don't be shy about axing products or services that don't match or exceed your industry's average gross profit margins.
There is another reward for entrepreneurs who emphasize cautious cash management in their day-to-day business operations. Lenders and investors compete to fund them.
Susan Schreter is a 20-year veteran of the venture finance community and a university educator in entrepreneurship. Her work is dedicated to improving startup longevity and operating performance in rural, urban and suburban America. She is the founder of www.takecommand.org, a community service organization that offers the largest centralized database of startup and small business funding sources in the U.S. Follow Susan on Twitter @TakeCommand.


text:
An Ohio man faced public humiliation Sunday for terrorizing his neighbour for the last 15 years.
Edmond Aviv, 62, who pleaded no contest to a fourth-degree misdemeanour charge of disorderly conduct, was ordered to stand at an intersection in his hometown of South Euclid until 2 p.m. with a sign that says: "I AM A BULLY! I pick on children that are disabled, and I am intolerant of those that are different from myself. My actions do not reflect an appreciation for the diverse South Euclid community that I live in."
According to Cleveland.com, Aviv walked up to the intersection about 8:57 a.m. on Sunday with his sign, written in black marker on the side of a cardboard box.
Aviv was handed the unique penalty by Judge Gayle Williams-Byers on Friday.
Neighbour Scott Prugh and his family was the target of Aviv's terror campaign.
"He would do things like shine a spotlight at their house at three in the morning so the family couldn't sleep. Then he would play loud music. He also shovelled dog feces onto the car of the one son who is a caretaker to the disabled children. He did this every day," Williams-Byers told the court.
Prugh says his parents adopted two black children with developmental disabilities and that they were often bullied by Aviv.
"When the children went to play outside, he targeted them. With the limited capability that they had, if they lost a ball, Aviv would kick it as hard as he could across the street so they couldn't access it anymore," said Williams-Byers.
Aviv was also sentenced to 15 days in jail, has to attend anger management classes and perform 100 hours of community service.


text:
32 S&W Long
Ammunition for firearms chambered in 32 Smith & Wesson Long (32 S&W Long, 32 Long)
Ammunition purchaser requirements:
- • Rifle/Shotgun ammo: You must be at least 18 years of age
- • Handgun ammo: You must be at least 21 years of age
- • You must be a U.S. citizen or a resident alien that meets all legal requirements
- • Federal law prohibits sales to minors, drug addicts, felons, illegal aliens, the mentally ill, and those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes.
- • You must comply with all other local, state, and/or federal requirements.
Any shipment containing ammo must be shipped via ground service. We will NOT ship ammo to the following locations: AK, CA, CT, HI, IL, MA, NJ, NY, DC, or PO/APO/FPO Box
Orders containing ammo must select UPS Ground or FedEx Ground at checkout, otherwise your order will be cancelled, no exceptions!
Contact us if you require assistance with your ammunition purchase.
There are no products listed under this category.


text:
INDIANAPOLIS — Mike Krzyzewski and Rick Pitino are finally doing an encore.
For the first time since their teams played perhaps the greatest game in the history of the NCAA tournament, Krzyzewski and Pitino will meet in the NCAA tournament Sunday when top-seeded Louisville faces Duke. In the regional finals, no less.
Never mind that few of their current players were even born in 1992. Or that Pitino is no longer at Kentucky, having switched sides in the state's civil war after his brief trip to Boston and the NBA ended badly.
Krzyzewski and Pitino are forever linked by that one game in Philadelphia, immortalized by Christian Laettner's improbable shot.
"It's one of those moments in time that helped define our sport," Krzyzewski said Saturday. "When I've talked to Rick about it, we realize we were the lucky guys. We had different roles at that time, but we were both lucky to be there."
Said Pitino, "It was like being in Carnegie Hall and seeing the best musician or the best singer. Just sitting there in amazement of what they were doing out on the basketball court."
Krzyzewski and Pitino are two of the finest coaches of their generation, with five NCAA titles and 1,618 victories between them. Yet for all of their success, and for as good a friends as they are, Krzyzewski and Pitino rarely play each other.
When Louisville (32-5) and Duke (30-5) played in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in November — Duke won — it was the first time Krzyzewski and Pitino had played each other since '92. Sunday's game will be their third meeting ever.
"That's why we got them in the conference. Got to start doing this a little bit more," Krzyzewski joked, referring to Louisville's upcoming move to the ACC.
But almost nothing could top that first meeting between them.
The Blue Devils, led by Laettner and Grant Hill, were defending national champions in 1992. Kentucky was on the rise again after two years on probation. When they met in the old Spectrum for the East Region finals, it was a showdown of the 1 and 2 seeds, a game worthy of a national championship.
"It was such a high-scoring game with so much perfection in the way players passed and shot the ball. That's what made it stand the test of time," Pitino said. "It was a game where two coaches could sit back and watch great players perform at the highest level."
After coming from 10 down in regulation, Kentucky appeared to have the game won when Sean Woods made a running bank shot in the lane with 2.5 seconds left in overtime. Duke called a timeout, and gave the ball to Grant Hill to inbound.
The Wildcats knew the ball was going to Laettner, a 6-foot-11 center who'd made a buzzer-beater against Connecticut in the regional finals two years earlier. But without Jamal Mashburn —he'd fouled out — Pitino pulled John Pelphrey and Deron Feldhaus aside and warned them not to foul.
"I said, 'Whatever you do, don't foul him. He hasn't missed a shot,'" Pitino recalled. "I shouldn't have done that. That was the mistake I made. I should have said, 'Whatever you do, bat down the ball. I don't care what the contact is, go for the basketball.'
"You saw my guys freeze a little bit."
As anyone who's ever watched the NCAA tournament in the last 21 years knows, Hill threw a strike from the far baseline and found Laettner at the foul line with his back to the basket. Laettner faked right, spun to his left and his 15-footer hit nothing but net as the buzzer sounded.
"I don't think you can realize the significance at that time," Krzyzewski said. "I will always remember the stark difference in emotion. Because, right in front of me, Richie Farmer collapsed. I see our guys jump and I see him fall. And really, I was more taken by Richie. I understood by looking at him ... just how tough that was."
It was agonizing for the first 24 hours, Pitino said. But when he popped a tape of the game in the next day, he saw it in a different light.
"I just sat back and said, 'Darn, that was some hell of a basketball game,'" he said. "I got the guys together and I said, 'Man, that was a great game.' Really was a great game, especially playing without Mash."
Duke would go on to win its second straight title, beating Michigan in the final. Kentucky would complete its revival four years later when the Wildcats beat Syracuse for their sixth NCAA title and first since 1978.
But it is that game that everyone remembers, and the years have done nothing to diminish it.
Clips of the play are on repeat throughout the tournament each year. And as the NCAA celebrates 75 years of March Madness this year, the Laettner play has been among the highlights.
"I do think about it often," Pitino said. "Not from a revenge standpoint, but as a great game that I was happy to be part of.
"To me, it's one of the best losses I've ever had," he said. "A bad loss is where your guys play terrible, you don't play. It was a great loss because my guys played almost a perfect game and we just had the wrong ending for us. But it was one of the greatest basketball games ever played because it was so high-powered with great play. One great play after another. That was fun to be part of."


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Statement from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on World AIDS Day
On December 1, World AIDS Day, we remember those we have lost, but also celebrate the remarkable progress made in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. When the first World AIDS Day was observed in 1988, we could not imagine the end of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. For those diagnosed with HIV infection, the future was bleak.
This year, the picture is very different. Scientific advances in understanding HIV, and an increasing number of treatment options, are turning the tide for millions of people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and around the world. We are greatly encouraged by evidence that new HIV infections have declined by 50 percent or more in 25 low and middle income countries.
Smart and thoughtful public policy is also making a difference, as we move steadily toward the goal of creating an AIDS-free generation.
On the domestic front, the Obama Administration's National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) continues to provide a compelling vision and roadmap for our efforts to end the epidemic in the U.S. The NHAS helps federal, state and local partners focus on key factors that drive the epidemic and put more resources into the communities and populations with the highest risk. Because of the incredible work and dedication of patients, families, researchers, advocates and communities working together to achieve the vision of the NHAS, we have a unique opportunity to significantly alter the course of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States.
On the global front, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has released the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-free Generation. The blueprint details what the U.S. Government is contributing toward achieving an AIDS-free generation. The blueprint also highlights that the U.S. will remain committed to fighting global AIDS, but recognizes that this is a shared responsibility in which everyone has a role to play, with country governments in the lead.
I am proud of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) leadership role in the global response. Many of our agencies—including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; as well as our Office of Global Affairs —conduct global HIV activities as PEPFAR implementers.
Through these efforts, strong partnerships have been formed between HHS and the ministries of health of countries deeply affected by the epidemic. The scientific and technical expertise that HHS brings to the U.S. efforts make it a key partner in implementing the Blueprint, as it is in implementing the NHAS.
Together, the domestic NHAS and the global Blueprint offer the Administration's vision of the way to reach the goal of an AIDS-free generation. Very specific action steps have been taken to help move us forward in that direction.
One of the key steps in the domestic response to HIV/AIDS is the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which President Obama signed in March 2010. Because of the ACA, an estimated 30 million Americans will gain access to health insurance by 2021. This will increase access to critical HIV testing and prevention services, as well as access to life-extending care and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Consistent with the goals of the NHAS, the ACA makes considerable strides in advancing equality for and helping people living with HIV/AIDS get the health insurance and care they need and deserve. When fully implemented, insurers will be prohibited from denying coverage to anyone or imposing annual limits on coverage—an important protection for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Many other provisions in the law are already helping people living with HIV/AIDS, including discounts for Medicare beneficiaries on covered brand name drugs in the "donut hole" and the ability to count benefits from the AIDS Drug Assistance Program as contributions toward Medicare Part D's true Out of Pocket Spending Limit. These provide significant relief for low-income people living with HIV/AIDS.
Preventive measures are critical for those at risk for, or living with, HIV/AIDS. Many private health insurance plans must now cover, at no additional cost, recommended preventive services, such as regular check-ups and certain cancer screenings. In addition, most private health plans must now cover HIV testing without a co-pay for adults and adolescents at higher risk and HIV testing and counseling for sexually active women. Medicare also covers certain recommended preventive services, including HIV screening for individuals at increased risk, without cost-sharing or deductibles. These preventive measures help people living with HIV/AIDS stay healthy while preventing the spread of HIV.
The ACA also improves prevention efforts by making critical investments in public health surveillance, community-based programs, and outreach. To ensure all populations are treated equitably, the law expands initiatives to strengthen cultural competency training for all healthcare providers. It bolsters Federal commitment to reducing health disparities, expands the healthcare workforce, and increases funding for community health centers. Each of these efforts helps to protect those at greatest risk for, or living with, HIV/AIDS.
Because of the ACA, a series of investments to help providers support patients with chronic disease like HIV/AIDS are available. Under the law, states can receive extra federal funding to support high-quality coordinated care through Health Homes for Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic health needs. The goal of a Health Home is to treat the whole person, coordinating all their care from primary and acute care to behavioral health and long-term services.
Today, I am proud to announce that we will be issuing a rule to explicitly include HIV/AIDS on the list of chronic conditions that every state may target in designing effective Health Homes. This will make it easier for states to provide coordinated care for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Finally, we persist in our work to fight the stigma that continues to hamper our attempts to address the threat of HIV/AIDS. Several efforts, including CDC's "Let's Stop HIV Together" and "Testing Makes Us Stronger" campaigns address stigma and discrimination.
Individuals can also take direct action to fight this stigma. We encourage people to join with thousands of others in an innovative photo-sharing initiative called "Facing AIDS."
Individuals can also utilize AIDS.gov's Smart phone app to take their own photo, write their own message, and upload it to the online gallery. By putting human faces to HIV/AIDS, we can help reduce the stigma around the disease and promote HIV testing.
Every World AIDS Day brings us closer to an AIDS-free generation. I am grateful to be part of an Administration and Department that are committed to that goal. I am also grateful to those who work diligently every day to put an end to the HIV/AIDS epidemic—both here in the U.S. and around the world.
Online Resources:
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on World AIDS Day
December 1, 2012 by


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Guy Devours Paper for Reasons No One Can Understand
While you're downing hot dogs, hamburgers or really anything charred on a grill this weekend, think about what this fella has floating through his system. It's much worse than the 14,000 calories in those brats you're going to gobble up.
He wanted to set a world record by eating four sheets of computer paper in this somewhat NSFW video. Why? Well, we guess because looseleaf messes with the digestive tract (it's not called "loose"-leaf for nothing) and newspaper has all that icky print that no one seems to read anymore because you can learn everything you need to know on the Internet.
It's all very weird, which stands to reason since this appears to be a very weird guy. He even takes to calling himself the Human Paper Shredder, despite the fact he's not shredding paper. He also loses points for drinking water. If he's really tough, he'd be able to chase the taste of paper with rubbing alcohol or a Crayola smoothie. Everyone knows that. That's just common sense, right?


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